In Santa Paula, construction workers are building more than infrastructure, they’re building company ownership.
At our employee-owned facility in Ventura County, employees earn stock in the company they help grow, creating real retirement security and family wealth without putting their own savings at risk. As California debates how to strengthen its economy and better support working families, this model, known as Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs), deserves to be explicitly recognized and prioritized by state policymakers.
No business model is better aligned with California’s values than employee-owned companies structured through ESOPs. They are a proven way to build stronger companies, create real wealth for workers, and deliver long-term economic stability. The concept is simple: when an ESOP company succeeds, employees share directly in that success as owners.
An ESOP is a federally regulated ownership structure in which employees earn an ownership stake in the company they work for through a trust. There is no buy-in, and workers are not asked to put their personal finances at risk. Ownership is earned over time, based on years of service and compensation, and becomes a meaningful asset, often the largest retirement benefit an employee will ever have when they are ready to retire or leave the company.
For workers in Santa Paula, this ownership is deeply personal. One longtime employee spent decades in the construction industry, raising two children and building her career, never expecting she would have a meaningful opportunity to invest in her future. When she joined our company, her job did not change, but her outlook did. As an employee-owner, she built real retirement security over time and gained confidence she once thought out of reach, providing stability and peace of mind for her family’s future.
The data speaks for itself. National research shows that employee-owners have roughly 92% higher median household wealth than comparable workers at non-employee-owned companies. They also hold more than twice as much in retirement assets, earn higher median wages, and experience longer job tenure. These are not marginal gains. They are life-changing outcomes for working families.
Employee ownership also strengthens businesses themselves. ESOP companies consistently outperform traditional firms in job retention and resilience during economic downturns. During the COVID-19 pandemic, employee-owned companies retained jobs at approximately four times the rate of non-ESOP companies and were far less likely to cut wages or benefits. When workers are owners, companies are better positioned to weather uncertainty and invest for the long term.
California is already a national leader in employee ownership. The state is home to roughly 780 employee-owned companies, more than any other state in the nation. Together, they have distributed an estimated $11 billion in value to employee-owners. That is real wealth staying in local communities: supporting families and strengthening local economies.
The benefits of employee ownership are especially evident in construction and infrastructure, sectors where California invests billions of public dollars each year. Under traditional ownership models, the financial upside of these projects is often concentrated at the top. ESOPs distribute ownership broadly across the workforce, ensuring that the people doing the work share directly in the value being created.
Despite these benefits, California’s contracting and economic development programs still largely favor traditional ownership structures. That approach overlooks a clear opportunity to deliver broader, more durable economic outcomes from public investment.
ESOPs create wealth for workers, strengthen businesses, and build more resilient local economies. California’s leadership should not stop at recognition alone. State law and policy should explicitly encourage employee ownership by rewarding ESOP companies in public contracting, economic development programs, and workforce investments.
Doing so would ensure that more public dollars support companies that invest in their workers as owners — creating long-term stability for families and communities. The model working today in Santa Paula should not be the exception. With the right policy choices, it can continue to grow and flourish.
Steve Concannon is the Chairman and recently retired CEO of Pavement Recycling Systems (PRS) as well as the President of the California Employee Ownership Coalition (CEOC).
